Friday, January 15, 2021

Fw: BBC Virtual Presentation, Tuesday January 19



But frost, like the crystallized dreams of autumn, began to coat the clearing with its sugar glaze.     
---Victoria Steele Logue, author





----- Forwarded Message -----
From: membership <membership@brooklynbirdclub.org>
To: "membership@brooklynbirdclub.org" <membership@brooklynbirdclub.org>
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2021, 09:54:39 AM EST
Subject: BBC Virtual Presentation, Tuesday January 19

The Grassland Bird Trust with Laurie LaFond & Paloma Spina
January 19 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Via Zoom, Registration required. Please register here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAqdO6pqD8sHtCyrrnUYN6zmh3f2wxN4phY

Grasslands are the fastest disappearing habitat in the U.S. and grassland birds are disappearing right along with their habitats. We have lost 700 million grassland birds in the U.S. and Canada over the last 50 years. Short-eared owls, Northern harriers, Upland sandpipers, Eastern meadowlarks, and other iconic bird species are vanishing from rural landscapes at an alarming rate. Learn about these amazing grassland birds and find out more about what Grassland Bird Trust (GBT) is doing to reverse that trend!

GBT has conserved or helped conserve over 250 acres of critical habitat in upstate New York. Learn about their work with renewable energy companies on innovative new projects to conserve more land. GBT is also spearheading regional efforts to form a grassland coalition that will greatly increase the scale and pace of grassland bird conservation across the eastern U.S.

Join us and discover how you can be a part of this pivotal conservation movement!

Laurie LaFond

Laurie LaFond is the founder and Executive Director of Grassland Bird Trust (formerly Friends of the IBA). She has led GBT's growth into a respected land trust conserving critical habitat for endangered, threatened, and rapidly declining grassland birds. Laurie initiated and co-leads GBT's efforts to build regional and national coalitions that will vastly increase the pace and scale of grassland bird conservation across the U.S. She is also developing innovative partnerships with renewable energy companies to conserve more land, fund stewardship and minimize impact on grassland birds. LaFond holds a B.S. in Non-Profit Administration and an A.A. in Communications. She has extensive experience in organizational development, fundraising, community development, and grassland bird conservation.

Paloma Spina

Paloma Spina, Board Member and Coalition Co-Coordinator for GBT, is an environmental engineer currently working for Anchor QEA, a consulting firm specializing in environmental remediation. She started developing a passion for habitat restoration when working on a conservation project in the cloud forest of Honduras. Paloma regularly works on a variety of fundraising and development projects for GBT. She is passionate about the organization's mission and is highly invested in building a grassland coalition with GBT's Executive Director Laurie LaFond and other partners. Ms. Spina holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Earth Science from Cornell University.